Potato-digger



(Model.) H. STRAIT.

PoTAgro DGGBR. No. 252,538. PatentedJan. 17,1882.

B l I 'lll g Figa-Z.

WITNBSSES: INVEN 0R.'

u ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM STRAIT, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION -forming; part of Letters Patent No. 252,538, dated January 17', 1882. Application led June 9, 1881. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM STRAI'I, ofTroy,

'in the'county of Rensselaer and State of New York,haveinventeda new and useful Improvementin Potato-Diggers, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the drawings hereto annexed.

The present invention is an improvement upon a potato-digger described in Letters Patent No. 210,061, granted to me November i9, 1878, and which belongs to the class in which a shire tor opening the soil is used in combination with a rotating lingered cylinder, by which the potatoes are separated from the soil and thrown out upon the surface.

My improvement consists in certain, important changes in the said invention and additions thereto, as more particularly hereinafter pointed out.

In the drawings forming part ot' this specication, Figure lis aplan viewot'the improved digger; Fig. 2, a front elevation, and Fig. 3 a side elevation, partially broken away.

The digger consists in a suitable frame, A, secured to a stationary axle, a., and supported upon two wheels, B, near the rear end thereof, and two vertically-adjustable casters, b, near the forward end, the forward share, c, forloosening the ground, the rear share, c', for elevating` the broken soil, the rearwardl y-divergin g side boards, d, the lingered cylinder e, and the regulating mechanism hereinafter-described. The casters b are provided with cylindrical shanks, which are loosely supported in guides or brackets b', secured to opposite sides of the forward end ot' the frame andeonnected at their tops by a cross-bar, b2. A lever, j', is pivoted between brackets on the upper side of this bar, and adjustably connected at its forward end to an uprightbar, g, which is secured to the frame and provided with a number of pert'orations for varying the adjustment of said lever. The rear end of this lever is provided with a hook, which is to be inserted into any one ofthe links of chain g', which is secured to the axle a, whereby the forward end of the frame may be held in a lowered or elevated position and the casters adjusted so as to support the said end in any desired position. By this arrangement when the forward end of the frame is elevated no additional weightis thrown upon the tongue, while the latter, which is pivoted to the upper portion of the frame, is allowed lo oscillate, so as to adjust itself thereto. 1

The forward share, c, is a sharp-edged bar of' triangular form having a central standard which is rigidly secured at any desired position ina suitable socket in the frame. A raised T-shaped extension, h, similar' to that shown in my former invention is secured just behind the said standard in such manner that its hornlike extensions will reach to points a little above the rear extremities of the triangular share c. As thus constructed the arms of this share will pass beneath the potatoes, while the T-shaped extension will pass just above them and sever the villes therefrom, the ground at the same time heilig thoroughly loosened but not thrownopen. The rear share, c', is also of triangular shape, and provided with a centrai standard, which is secured to the frame 4 in like manner at any desirableposition behind the share c. This share is scoop-shaped, and provided at its rear upper portion with backwardly -inclined teeth c2, through which the elevated soil and potatoesare made to pass,

the object being more thoroughly to loosen and distribute the soil before the operation of raking out the potatoes is begun.

The fingered cylinder e, by which the potatoes are to be raked out of the soil, does not differ materially from the one employed in my formcrinvention, ab-ive referred to. It is pro vided, however, with disks e at each end, to prevent the potatoes from being scattered to either side as they are raked ont ot' the soil by the fingers, which are screwed into the cylinder. In 'my former invention the cylinder is geared with the drive-wheels i'n such manner that it will rotate forwardly in the same direction with the said wheels and rake the potatoes out at its rear; but this method is objectionable in some respects, and I adopt a different method, which consists in gearing the pinions e2 onthe extreme ends of the shaft which carries said cylinder with wheels e3, which are secured to the inner sides of the spokes of the wheels B and provided with cogged peripheries for meshing with said pinions. By this means the cylinder eis rotated backward instead ot' roo forward, and the potatoes are raked out ot' the soil and carriedover the cylinder and deposited in the rear upon the surface of the ground.

The method of throwing this cylinder in and out of gear is quite similar to the one I have formerly used, butimproved in certain respects.

The upright bars t' i, in the lower ends of which the shaft of the cylinder is journaled, are adjustable both vertically and longitudinally by means of its own vertical series of perforations and the longitudinal series ot' perforations in the plates t" t', which are secured in the sides of the frame. rlhe upper ends of bars Mare connected respectively to two togglejointed levers, k 7c, which are provided with screw-threaded ends.l and connected by means ot' across-bar, l, which is adjusted in position and held by nuts. This cross-bar is provided with two forward and two rear apertures or loops, l. nearthe ends thereot'. which are made to tit over or receive two tapering uprights, m m', which are secured to the top of the frame near the axle. By pressing the cross-har l forward the pinions c2 are thrown backward into gear with the wheels e3, and then by pressing the said cross-bar down the uprights mm will enter the rear apertures of said bar and the pinions be thus held in gear. By drawing the bar backward the pinionsare thrown out of gear and held in that position by engaging the forward apertures of the bar with the uprights. As this cross-bar and the leverf are within reach of the driver while occupying the :eat the entire regulating mechanism may be easily 'manipulated without stopping the machine.

()n opposite sides of the cylinder is a side board, (1,to prevent the potatoes from being scattered to either side, the forward ends of which extend slightly in advance ofthe fingers ofthe cylinder and the rear ends which diverge apart to the rear of' the frame. These boards are designed to extend nearly to the ground, and the ingers of the cylinder project suticiently below them to reach the potatoes that are deepest in the ground. These boards are recessed at the sides to receive the shaft of the cylinder and admit of its vertical adjustment. To accommodate the iingered cylinder the frame is recessed above it, and the recess thus formed covered over by a curved sheetinetal plate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a potato-digger, the combination, willi frame A, supported upon wheels B and casters b, otv the t'orw ard share, c, havinga centralstandard and T-shaped extension, h, arranged with is points above the extremities of said share, and rear share, c', made scoop-shaped for clevating the broken soil, and provided with rearwardly-inclined teeth c2, substantially as shown and described.

-2. In a potato-digger, thecombination of frame A, lingered cylinder c, having disks e', rearwardly-divergin g side boards, d, wheels B, cog-wheels c3, pinions e2, uprights t' i, perforated plates z" t, toggle-jointed levers k k, crossbar l, having loops l', and tapering uprights m m, substantially as shown and described.

IIIRAM STRAI'I. Vitnesses:

A. W. HARRINGTON, J r., EZRA R. VAIL. 

